1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a medical system and a method for generating a medical guide image, and in particular to a medical system capable of acquiring information relating to an anatomical position and/or orientation of a medical image and the medical guide image generating method used in the medical system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Body cavity probes such as endoscopes capable of acquiring optical images of a test subject and ultrasound endoscopes capable of acquiring a tomographic image of the test subject are configured to allow insertion into body cavities such as the alimentary tract, the bronchia, the pancreas and bile ducts and blood vessels. Conventionally, such endoscopes have been widely used in the observation of the body cavities, diagnosis of disease, and the like.
When it is difficult to deliver the body cavity probe to a desired site in the body cavity using only the information contained in the optical image and the tomographic image, a guide image is sometimes used to allow the distal end portion of the body cavity probe to be guided easily to the desired site.
Guide images are also used as means to help an operator estimate an anatomical position of an ultrasound tomographic image obtained by the ultrasound endoscope or an ultrasound diagnosis apparatus which forms ultrasound tomographic images by passing an ultrasound probe over the body surface.
An example of apparatus including a function for generating a guide image of the above-described type is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2006-149481.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2006-149481 describes an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus capable of generating a guide image for showing an anatomical position and/or orientation in an ultrasound tomographic image based on the ultrasound tomographic image and reference images stored in advance as anatomical image data.